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Your physician has scheduled you for an endometrial biopsy. What exactly is that? It is a procedure where your doctor gets a sample from the lining of your uterus. The sample is then examined for cell abnormalities. This biopsy will help your doctor determine if there are problems in your endometrium (uterus lining) as well as determine if your endometrial hormone levels are in balance.
This uterine lining normally changes throughout a menstrual cycle. The lining becomes thinker in the early stages of the cycle. It then becomes thinker when an egg is release during ovulation. Then the lining is shed via menstrual bleeding if there is no fertilization of the egg.
An endometrial biopsy can be performed in several different methods including:
–Use of a pipelle (a very small, soft straw) that will be used to suction a sample. This is a quick and relatively painless method.
–Use of a curette that is a sharp-edged tool that will scrape the sample from the lining that is the collected via a syringe. It is also called a D & C (dilation and curettage) procedure and is done with regional or general anesthesia.
–Vabra aspiration is performed via an electric suction device and the procedure can be painful.
–Jet irrigation uses a liquid to slough off the lining tissue.
An endometrial biopsy may be done if a woman if finding it difficult to become pregnant. The procedure and determine of her uterine lining can actually support a pregnancy.
The biopsy can also be used to determine the causation of uterine bleeding that may be abnormal. It can also be used to check for endometrial hyperplasia or the overgrowth of the uterine lining, as well as to check for cancer.
